Love Live! Sunshine!! 2nd Season

Love Live has come a long way. It’s difficult to imagine now, but when the first season of School Idol Project started back in 2013, idol anime as we know it today didn’t really exist. Just as µ's was the guiding light for the world of school idols, the franchise led the way for the genre, and by the time of the School Idol Movie, it really had become a global phenomenon. So when µ's retired and Aqours stepped forward to take its place, fans were understandably upset and worried that this new iteration would tarnish or override the franchise’s legacy. But it was neverthe goal for Aqours to replace its predecessor, and instead it told its own story about trying to live up to that legacy, and instead accomplishing far more. While the first season of Sunshine adhered closely to the formula set by School Idol Project, the second season focused on the ways that Aqours was different. The new generation was never going to measure up against the audience’s nostalgia for µ's, and that was reflected in the story. Aqours struggles with challenges that µ's overcame easily, and there are times when they actually fail. These aren’t just failure by circumstance; they will have tried their best and it still wasn’t enough to succeed. We see these characters when they’re at their lowest points, and when they get back up and try again, it makes their victories all the sweeter. The writing is about as subtle as a brick, but it gets the emotions across. Although, those feelings wouldn’t resonate so strongly if we weren’t so deeply invested the cast and their success. Sunshine relies more heavily on personal drama than its predecessor, and it works because their problems aren’t abstract and artificial walls, but genuine fears and worries to which we can relate. And instead of having to overcome these problems on their own, the other members of the group will reach out to provide support, which sells you on the idea that these characters are actually friends who care about each other’s well-being. It’s true that some members of the ensemble get better treatment than others, with one or two being reduced mainly to one-note gags, but overall the cast is so earnest that you can’t help but root for them. The growth of the characters is also reflected in the performance scenes, which see the characters becoming gradually more comfortable with complex choreography and each other. For better or worse, CGI has always been a staple of the Love Live franchise, and it’s been getting better with every entry. Early performances looked garish and were plagued by unimaginative camerawork, but both technology and direction have improved vastly, and it’s finally reaching the point that CGI can compete with traditional animation. Performances now come alive with dancing in 3D spaces, and varied shot composition and camera effects make for a real spectacle. It also helps that the songs being performed are really good. Aqours has a diverse discography, ranging from traditional Japanese odori to Broadway show tunes. The soundtrack outside of the performances is excellent as well, effectively matching the tonal shifts over the course of the season. On its technical merits, Sunshine soars. If I were to look at the anime alone, Sunshine is far from perfect. There’s a lot of valid criticisms that can and should be made, but since that’s not my focus, I’d recommend checking out Yuni’s review, which addresses a lot of them. But for this, rather than just looking at the show itself, I’m also including my own experience watching it, and I find that my enjoyment greatly outweighs any criticisms. For the past 13 weeks, it hasn’t just been the show that I’ve enjoyed, but also being a part of the community that surrounds it. That’s just my personal experience, so it will differ from person to person, but all I can say is that all of the tweets, fanart, and fanfiction that I saw definitely added to my enjoyment. I’m going to miss this generation. It’s not quite over yet – there’s still the movie – but the end is rapidly approaching. I’ve always appreciated that the Love Live franchise ends stories conclusively; the dream of being a school idol is fleeting, but the lessons learned will last forever. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to love the next generation the same way I loved this one, but the future looks bright, and I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Ok, Let's talk real now. I didn't come to watch Love Live Sunshine because I looked for some intense and deep story that involves time traveling or... something like that. I came here looking for cute idols singing, dancing, aiming high and getting there. And I got exactly what I was looking for. In Season 2 we didn't really have a "special" story. It's pretty similar to School Idol Project, with the school being at risk, 3rd years leaving and such. But, it felt like it fit to give some background story so I liked it in the end. (7/10 for Story) The animation and art was outstanding. The CGIdances were executed super well and I have enjoyed every moment watching it. Of course there were points where the art dropped off, but it was mostly consistent. (9/10 for Art) Sound- Which includes Soundtrack/OP/ED/Insert songs. That was the real strength of Love Live Sunshine. These were amazing songs and I've enjoyed every single one of them, I listen to them every day because they were so good. The soundtrack, too, fit quite well and was nice. (10/10 for Sound) Well, we have 9 characters, which is a pretty nice amount. So it'll be hard not finding a girl to your liking. They were pretty diverse in their personalities yet so close (as they're all idols), the development between the cast as Aqours, or as one grade (Ex: Chemistry between 3rd years) and all the "ships" were quite outstanding. I found myself really bonding with the characters, and by the end of the anime there are no girls I hate. (10/10 for Character). So in conclusion, this anime got a 10/10 from me. And I RECOMMEND IT. Even if you don't feel like going through the "comedy to drama" story, just listen and watch to the CGI Dances and songs, as they were too good.

This was an overdue review. Sorry. Love Love has done so much for so many people, despite what you might think of the franchise. The story isn't something out of a masterpiece. It is bland and simplistic and the characters have one dimensional personalities. Too bland. Too simple. Sometimes a little too simple. We were thought to believe that compelling stories have to be meaningful, cathartic. Just like life itself. But we sometimes forget that life does not have to be cathartic. It can be simple. It does not have to be convoluted or complicated in order for it to work. Sometimes it clicks. Just likethat. Some things do not have to be complicated for them to work out just fine. Chika Takami knew that. Her friends knew that. She wanted to find something that made her life shine bright. That is something very simplistic in the journey of self discovery. It does not matter where you come from. What you do. What you believe in and who you find along the way. Sometimes things just click and nobody can take those experiences away from you. This is what the meaning of self discovery truly is. It is purely subjective. If you have learned from them it does not matter what other people think. Love Live is just that. It clicks. In its simplicity it clicks and brings you along the way. (And it might not, but it's still your own personal experience) I met a twelve year old girl this past summer that got into Love Live thanks to a friend. We are fifteen years apart and we spent a whole afternoon talking about the story and characters. I could have never been able to enjoy a conversation with this young girl if it was any other anime. It was an easy going conversation that to this day I cherish deeply, because it made me see something that I had not seen in myself. In order for things to work, I don't have to think too hard about them. It does not matter if the story is not as perfect as you might think. It is so important to remember that things don't always have to be difficult. They can be easy. As adults we constantly say "It's difficult". Sure, it is difficult, but it does not always have to be that way. Love Live is a beautiful story about accepting the simple things about life, because way too often we don't. We just forget them somewhere in the back of our brains, until we go insane. In my opinion, this is why Love Live is cherished and relatable amongst so many people, because it's about a simple group of teenagers with simple goals, looking to follow a common dream. Whether if it happens it does not matter. It is still the journey of self discovery. It was the same for me. I started Love Live not knowing what it was and hearing so much hate about it. I almost thought I was going to hate it as well, yet I found myself compelled into an unexpected world that made me laugh and cry and that made me realize, things don't have to drive you mad in order to work. They just do. Go with the flow. If you can't control it don't control it. I finally got myself to watch the last episode of this anime after a year of putting it off, knowing full-heartedly that there might not be another anime in this franchise. And I was not let down. Love Live has made an impact on so many people. For bad or for good it doesn't really matter. I am just so happy that I was there to see it happen. (Now please don't kill me for writing this) -Peace

I need to write this. I feel compelled to write this. A single 'tags' box can't possibly contain all of my thoughts and feelings for this season. So, before we get right to it, heavy spoilers, if there's anything worth spoiling anyway. Ready? Okay.Love Live Sunshine S2 is shit. After S1 set the bar for what was, most likely, to be the best season of Love Live ever, maybe even surpassing the masterful S2, ended up being the corniest, most obnoxious, most mind-numbingly boring, most underwhelming experience I've ever had with a piece of entertainment. Yup, this thing is down there with Terminator Salvation and Bioshock 2. But, to be fair, it's not exactly Final Fantasy X-2. How do I say this? It's a piece of shit but not entirely. Unlike the older seasons, it looks prettier. The soundtrack is nice. And the 3D animation is nice to look at, not like the awkward CG models they used in the original. The 2D animation is a lot slicker and more animated, allowing for a range of expressions in body language (which they didn't do at all). As for the girls themselves, DO YOU SEE THAT DETAIL? The amount of work they put into making the girls a lot prettier and flashier is impressive. As a training animator myself, I can just imagine the sweat and tears put into the lineart per frame. Hm, what else... Yup, that's it for the positives, I think. Now let's tear this thing apart. One of the key things that made Love Live so good was how they utilized drama. Whenever there was a situation the characters couldn't handle, it was always given due care, embracing an amount of subtlety or loudness that always fit the situation. Yes, even the massive outbreak scene in the original S1. The way they build up scenes with music, voice acting, blocking and camera angles manage to convey the emotions the characters are feeling. The other key thing was silence. The characters would only talk when they needed to, and convey what they needed to. This is true for the original and Sunshine S1. The scene where Chika expressed her disappointment and sadness over getting zero votes was masterful. It is a very good example of saying what you need to say: "I'm disappointed, I'm disappointed". Just from these lines alone, you could feel all the emotions pouring out from her, and the strength she lacks trying to cope with the situation. This is a scene I remember to this day, and I've only seen the whole season once, last year. It's masterful, and embraces what Love Live stands for - following your dreams and growing to become better. See all those great thing I said about Love Live? THIS SEASON HAS NONE OF THAT. The way drama is handled here is exactly what I expected of Love Live before I watched the original; corny, loud and meaningless. The school is shutting down, they failed to save the school but they have to get up and do Love Live anyway! How do they convey these set of events? In the laziest way possible. Chika is on the brink of losing hope, the group of schoolgirls can't convince her out of it. What saves the day? AN EVEN BIGGER GROUP OF SCHOOLGIRLS. Even at the ending, when they're closing up the school. This is the perfect moment for silence, letting the feeling sink in that 'this is the end and we need to move forward'. But NOPE! Gotta keep telling each other and letting the audience know that "we'll be together foreeeveerrr *heart* *heart*". The way they resolve every instance of drama is just plain lazy. I don't know, but they always feels set up, like it's just there just so something can happen or they say things just to consume empty space when there's no need to. The biggest thing I want to address is the Saint Snow arc. This could've been an amazing arc, rivaling the original S2's Rin and Nozomi episode. But nope, it was a rushed and inconsequential set of episodes about characters that had 0 to no buildup. Ruby is such a disappointing character. She was at least fun and felt involved around S1, but the way they utilized her for this arc, getting involved with Leah because she also had a sister and she was seemingly concerned, doesn't work for me AT ALL. As for Leah, her problem just felt plain shallow to me. Not that it wasn't. Losing the whole competition is something very demoralizing for the two of them. ... So why didn't they show that it was? This is another problem with the show: not putting in good buildup or drama when there was a dire need for it. This arc was in DIRE need for some good scenes, showing the tension between the two sisters, building up Ruby and Leah's friendship while developing the two in some way that it shows us who they are. The series tries, but it falls flat on its face because the scenes really just don't work for me and just feel empty without the proper backing. Ruby building up the confidence to make her own decisions? Great! Where's the part where you established that?? It really just doesn't work for me. And while we're at the topic, let's talk about the characters. S1 built up these characters to have possibly amazing arcs because of how well established they were, and how their unity felt organic and something that could potentially create amazing and fun mini arcs for the group. But here we are with S2, where the main dilemma is the group's refusal to put -chan at the end of Dia's name. What happened to all the dynamic characterization in S1? You can't possibly tell me that all the things that made each character interesting somehow disappeared after S1? Where did You's confidence issues go? Dia's love for idols? Kanan's love for the sea? When did Aquors' determination to follow their dreams, be free to be themselves and shine yet keep asking themselves what it means to shine?? And turned the girls into uninteresting one-note characters that say the same things over and over ("Buu Buu desu wa" is the most ear grating thing I've ever heard in my life)? Well, not entirely. I missed one positive thing about this season - the dog episode. The way they gave Yoshiko and Riko this fun and unlikely friendship over a dog and make them realize things about themselves and each other.To make things better, both subtlety and silence were present. How Yoshiko expressed how she didn't really believe in the occult but did it anyway because she felt something special from it and Riko receiving those words from her reminded me why I loved Love Live so much. And it gave me hope that maybe the series would go back to being good again, but nope it became boring the following episode. I honestly don't even remember what happened. What happened again? And what sucks is that they tossed away this relationship almost entirely after, turning Yoshiko back into a dry joke instead of bringing out her internal dilemma. I feel a need to address the songs, because really, none of them were memorable for me. They sounded like the filler songs you'd play in SIF. None of them stuck with me at all. They felt cheesy, boring to listen to and I'd occasionally pause in the middle of them to get a drink. It's relatively easy to get away with the phrase "It's just an idol anime. What did you expect?". It's hard to explain to people that the Love Live is a great series and could be a very meaningful experience. What this season is is precisely what people who haven't seen the show think the show is - just another cute girl anime. Just another corny, boring slice of life show with some music. This show is an utter disappointment. And I seriously hope future installations strive to do better. But, to Sunrise, this season is probably a smash hit so I'll hope instead that a more competent director or writer comes around. Love Live set the bar high, and I seriously hope someone steps in and meets the quota next time around.

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